What Happened To Josh Harris on Deadliest Catch? Explained

Since he first appeared on Deadliest Catch in 2007, Josh Harris has been one of the series’ most recognizable faces. Josh began as a deckhand on his father’s boat, the F/V Cornelia Marie. However, Harris and the boat have not been on the show lately. So, what happened?

Why Isn’t Josh Harris on Deadliest Catch Any More?

Despite appearing regularly on Deadliest Catch throughout most of its 20-year history Josh Harris and the Cornelia Marie stopped showing up in Seasons 19 and 20.

That’s because, in 2022, disturbing reports surfaced regarding Harris pleading guilty in a 1999 sexual abuse case involving a minor. This led to the Discovery Channel abruptly severing ties with both the fisherman and his crew. “We’ve been made aware of this issue. Josh will not appear in future episodes of this series,” a representative of Discovery announced in September 2022.

In addition to removing Harris from the long-running show, Discovery also canceled his spinoff series, Deadliest Catch: Bloodline. As of this writing, all three seasons of that show have been removed from Discovery+.

Who is Josh Harris?

Josh Harris is the son of Phil Harris, who served as the original captain of the F/V Cornelia Marie. Both he and his father regularly featured on the show until Captain Harris died of a massive stroke.

After the passing of his father, Josh bought the Cornelia Marie with the help of co-captain Casey McManus. Both he and the boat continued to be featured on Deadliest Catch until Season 13 aired in 2017. Josh stated that the absence was a creative decision on the part of the producers and returned the following season, remaining all the way through to 2022.

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air Tuesdays at 8pm on Discovery Channel.